Friday, May 29, 2009

Dress Up Day at Preschool

Anna had dress up day at school today. Thank goodness Aunt Kathy happened to give us some adorable princess costumes on Memorial Day weekend that Quinna and Moraya had outgrown...perfect timing. So Anna went as Cinderella.






Here she is doing a little curtsey.








And here she is with her incredible teachers Ms. Tershana and Ms. Carolyn. Love these ladies - they are so loving and so patient with the little ones.

Anna's Official!!!


We readopted Anna in the State of Georgia -- not necessary but it has many benefits to her later in life so we wanted to get it done. We had a wonderful attorney (Josie Redwine - an adoptive mother) and judge (Craig Schwall). They were great about including the boys in the process. They even swore Spencer and Kent in and made them promise to be good big brothers (and obey their parents and do their chores!! :-) ). We all learned a lot from the process and I was glad the boys actually got to play a part in the overall process. Anna will receive her GA birth certificate soon. Then all we have left to do are two more home visits by the agency and we have completed the entire paper chase!! How thrilling - almost done!

Leapin' Lizards...

Anna's first trip to Leapin' Lizards...a place near my sister's home where the kids love to go when we visit. She was so rough and tumble. If the older kids tried it, she tried it. Even if she was too little to reach or climb -- she'd get one of the older kids to take her up so she could slide down with them. Here she is going back up (this time she's convinced her cousin Quinna to carry her up).
And here she is in a "jumpy" with her big brothers. Of no concern to her that she is getting slung from one end to the other!! :-) She loves doing what the others are doing and being in the mix!




Kite Flying...




Anna flew a kite for the very first time on Memorial Day weekend at Aunt Kathy's! She and Spencer spent the better part of 30 minutes together trying to give Anna the chance to hold the string while the kite was actually in flight. It's hard to see -- but here she is actually flying the kite by herself!!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sea World Day During Spring Break

Spencer and Kent really love the animals at Sea World so we took Anna there for a day while we were at Disney World. Anna loved the animals too! Here are some shots of her "viewing" the animals with Baba.



This photo is in front of the "Tree of Life" at Animal Kingdom in Disney World. Very meaningful this year.







Anna playing in a park at Disney World's Magic Kingdom.


Spring Break Trip to Disney World



Sping Break at Disney World was so much fun. And honestly easier with the three kids than I ever dreamed it would be. It was fun showing Anna Disney for the first time ever. She enjoyed it but wasn't wild about the characters (she would start crying if they started coming toward us). So I had to grab a shot of her with Winnie the Pooh while she didn't know he was behind her :-) Whatever it takes, right? The week was marvelous. Now Russ and I need a vacation from our vacation!!












Hanging out with Granny at Disney World

Part of the reason the visit to Disney world with three kids (8 yrs old and younger) was so easy is because Granny Reba came down during the week to stay with us! It is always so wonderful to have her with us. She is incredible with the kids and they love her so very much. She hung out with Anna while she napped each day and that allowed Russ and I time to go do the more "advanced" rides / shows with Spencer and Kent. Lord knows I love my mom! She is a role model for me and I hope I am able to help my kids with their children the same way she is helping me.